Examining Prophecies--David's Throne, Part 1

Another prophecy the World Mission Society Church of God uses to prove Ahn Sahng-Hong as Christ...

When Christ returns
He will reign on David’s throne.
Hosea 3:5; Luke 1:31; 2 Sam. 5:4
According to the WMSCOG, Jesus did not completely fulfill the prophecy of receiving David’s throne.

Since King David was 30 years old when he became king and reigned for 40 years, that is what Jesus was expected to do also. Jesus began His kingship (was baptized) at 30 years old (Luke 3:23), but only ministered for 3 years (approximately). Therefore, His ministry was incomplete. The second coming Christ will have to be baptized at 30 (like David) and preach for the unfulfilled 37 years. Ahnsahnghong was baptized at 30 years old in 1948 and preached the remaining 37 years, dying in 1985. (This is why they will also say that his death was also to fulfill a prophecy—he could not keep preaching after 37 years because he would have exceeded the allotted time.)

Isa. 55:3; Heb. 13:12
Additionally, the sign of the true prophetical King David (according to the WMSCOG) will be that he restores the Passover. This is another prophecy the WMSCOG uses to point to Passover, but I’ll look at the Passover separately, later. Right now, I’m going to look at David’s throne….

Finally, here would be a nice, specific prophecy (baptized at 30, preach for 37 years)—IF it was interpreted correctly, but it’s NOT! I have never, ever seen any Jewish scholar reporting that the prophecy of reigning on David’s throne means that the Jews expected the Messiah to be baptized at 30 years old and rule for 40 years. If there is one out there, the WMSCOG ought to reference it. “Sitting on David’s throne” has nothing to do with the years of David’s reign—it’s all about the family line of David. Why would the WMSCOG misinterpret this prophecy? Because what kind of chance is there that a man from Korean family would be descended from the Jewish King David?

I searched the Scriptures to find out what is meant by “reigning on David’s throne.” As I read each one I asked, in this passage is “David’s throne” referring to the years of reign (beginning at 30, reigning for 40 years)? Or is it referring to the descendants of David ruling on the throne of Israel? Not once did I see a Scripture that could have been meant to refer to the years of reign. If I’ve missed one, I hope someone will be kind enough to point it out.

I'm going to save space and just write the Scripture references. You can look them up quickly at www.biblegateway.com.

2 Sam. 3:9-10
This is before David even began to rule as king. When Abner spoke this, did he know already the years of David’s rule? No. He was talking about David and his line being established as rulers of Israel and Judah.

1 Kings 1:13, 29-37
1 Kings 2:4, 10-12, 24, 33, 45
1 Kings 3:6-7
These verses all refer to Solomon becoming king after David, about Solomon being given David’s throne. As a matter of fact, Solomon did reign for 40 years (1 Kings 11:42), but we don’t know how old he was when he became king. Nevertheless, these verses are given when Solomon BECAME king. Were they limiting their king to 40 years of service? No, they expected David to have descendants sitting on the throne forever.

Psalm 132:11
Isa. 16:5
Who will sit on the throne? “One from the house of David”—a descendant of David.

Isa. 9:7
The Messiah to reign on David’s throne will reign from “that time on and forever,” not a mere 40 years.

Jer. 13:13-14
Jer. 17:25
Jer. 22:1-5
Jer. 29:16
Who are the kings who sit on David’s throne in the book of Jeremiah? Not kings who began their rule at 30 years old and continued for 40 years. They were descendants of David, ruling over Israel and Judah.

Jer. 33:17-21
Who is the man that will sit on the throne? A descendant of David.

Isa. 11:1, 10
Rev. 5:5
Rev. 22:16
These are all about someone from the "root of David" or the "root of Jesse" (who was David's father). That is a reference to the family line, not a number of years.

Luke 1:31-33
Was Jesus expected to reign for only 40 years? No. Did He need someone to complete His remaining 37 years of preaching? No. He rose from the dead and lives forever Himself. “His kingdom will NEVER end.”

But wait—if the prophecy of David’s throne means that the second coming Christ must be a descendant of David, doesn’t that contradict the previous prophecy of him being a Gentile (the order of Melchizedek)?

No, remember Hebrews 7--the prophecy about Melchizedek was not about being a Gentile. Only members of the tribe of Levi were permitted to be priests according to the law. Melchizedek did not obtain his priesthood from his genealogy. Jesus also is not a priest because of His genealogy. He was not from the tribe of Levi. His was a God-given priesthood. Being a priest in the order of Melchizedek does not mean that the Christ must be a Gentile. It means that the Christ is not from the tribe of Levi.

We could say that because Ahnsahnghong was a Gentile, he was definitely not from the tribe of Levi, and so he still would fulfill this prophecy of being in the order of Melchizedek. But He does not fulfill the prophecy of being one of David’s descendants to sit on David’s throne (as it is rightly interpreted).

Click here to go on to Part 2.